1 what's your favorite aspect of Wattpad? 

My favorite aspect of Wattpad is the ability to socialize with some incredible readers and writers. I love the ability to comment on the work of other writers and discuss stories and plots. It's a lot of fun–and can allow for some great reviews and critiques of your work.

2 what's a tip you'd give a newcomer? 

I would tell a newcomer that the most important thing to do is to read other people's work. Don't expect to lure in readers of your own without putting in a little legwork to read and comment on other people's stories first. If you want to get noticed, you have to put yourself out there.

3 how would you celebrate a publishing deal? 

I would celebrate a publishing deal with a margarita and tacos!

4 what's your favorite TV show? 

I don't watch much television, but when I do it's usually something super cheesy like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.

5 what's your dream vacation? 

My dream vacation is a writer's retreat in the mountains–completely alone!

6 what's your favorite holiday and why? 

Halloween is my favorite holiday because my favorite season is autumn and there's so much joy in the creativity of planning and wearing a costume. Besides–what other day of the year are you allowed to go around threatening neighbors for candy?

7 if you could hang out with your favorite celeb, who would you choose and what would you do?

I would hang out with Sir Richard Branson and drink fruity cocktails on his private island. Or, perhaps, I'd hang out with Elon Musk and pick his brain about space travel.

 8 if you could gain advice from your favorite author,who would you choose and what would you ask?

I have many favorite authors, but if I had to choose one to ask advice from, I would ask Sabaa Tahir about how she handled multiple rewrites of her novel An Ember in the Ashes, as it's a process I'm going through right now.

 9 what's your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is still Wonder Woman. Yes, even in mid-2018. Let me bask in my Wonder Woman joy.

 10 what inspired you to write? 

My best friend April inspired me to write. She was my best friend since I was five years old, and for twenty years we were writing partners–until she passed away a few years ago. My main character May in my book May in the Wastelands is inspired by her.

11 what's your favorite season? 

Autumn, for sure! The air turn cool, there's excitement in the air for back-to-school, and it's the time of year when everything sort of turns inward. We turn towards families, we spend more time at home, and we reflect on what makes us happy in life.

Request time!

May in the Wastelands. It's my Young Adult novel about May, an 18 year old girl in a dystopian future where the world is ruled by a genetically engineered–and physically superior–upper class. She thought her family as safe from harm in their farming community until the upper class soldiers take her family. May–small from the scoliosis that curves her back–hides in the drainage pipes, and she finds herself on a journey that can change the world. There's a bit of everything in this book: science fiction, romance, and a girl with a disability who perseveres not in spite of but because of that very disability.